KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- It has been nearly eight years since U.S. forces overthrew the Taliban leaders of Afghanistan, but the war against the Taliban insurgency is bloodier than ever. A U.S. soldier takes his position near a building attacked by the Taliban south of Kabul, Afghanistan, on Monday. The number of Afghan civilians killed in the wake of the war has increased 24 percent in the first six months of this year compared with the same time period...
KABUL--Five British soldiers were shot and killed in southern Afghanistan Tuesday afternoon in an attack apparently carried out by an Afghan police officer, British officials said. The shooting occurred in the Nad e-Ali district of Helmand province. The British soldiers were working with Afghan National Police at a checkpoint when one of the policemen opened fire, Lt. Col. David Wakefield, a British military spokesman, told Sky News. Deaths among British troops...
DHAKA (Reuters) - About a dozen people were injured on Wednesday when unidentified attackers threw a bomb at the car of a Bangladesh politician related to the country's prime minister, police and witnesses said. They said Fazle Noor Tapas, a member of parliament from the Awami League party of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, escaped unhurt in the evening attack in central Dhaka. The bomb hit the car as Tapas was getting into it. "About 12 people...
NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- The death toll from Monday's 6.1-magnitude earthquake in Bhutan rose to 11, the country's home minister said Tuesday. Among the dead were four Indian road laborers who were crushed when boulders from hillsides rained down on them, said Home Minister Minjur Dorji. "In all, we have lost 11 lives," the minister said, adding that the government estimated that the temblor caused millions of dollars in damage. Almost all homes...
New Delhi, India (CNN) -- Sitting on an iron bench along a busy street, Chaman Lal sticks his fingers into a mug full of a greasy concoction and then applies the dark-red brew to areas where his patients complain of pain. Lal -- who does not have a license to practice medicine, but claims to be a successful bone doctor and traditional healer -- says this potion of 18 herbs is a cure-all. His large signboard, placed along the roadside, claims he can even treat paralysis.
MALE, Maldives -- The Maldives will convene a summit next month of countries suffering some of the worst impacts of climate change ahead of a global conference on the issue in Copenhagen, government officials said.The low-lying island nation has become a leading voice on the issue of global warming, even staging an underwater Cabinet meeting this month to express concerns about rising sea levels. Government officials said Tuesday that the...
LANDIKOTAL, Paskistnas - A roadside bomb killed seven Pakistani soldiers in the northwestern Khyber region on the Afghan border on Saturday, hours after warplanes struck suspected Taliban positions in a neighboring tribal area, officials said. The rough and rugged tribal territory separating Pakistan and Afghanistan is a stronghold for Taliban insurgents from both countries as well as a haven for al Qaeda operatives.
COLOMBO - Sri Lanka said on Monday it had demanded Washington drop an attempt to question its top military official over possible human rights violations in the last phase of the country's 25-year civil war. Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said he had been told General Sarath Fonseka, the chief of Defense Staff, had been asked by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to attend an interview aimed at gathering information against...
Current Event in South Asia
Afghanistan
Taliban still a major threat 8 years later
Afghanistan | CNNKABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- It has been nearly eight years since U.S. forces overthrew the Taliban leaders of Afghanistan, but the war against the Taliban insurgency is bloodier than ever. A U.S. soldier takes his position near a building attacked by the Taliban south of Kabul, Afghanistan, on Monday. The number of Afghan civilians killed in the wake of the war has increased 24 percent in the first six months of this year compared with the same time period...
5 British soldiers slain by Afghan policeman
Afghanistan | The Washington PostKABUL--Five British soldiers were shot and killed in southern Afghanistan Tuesday afternoon in an attack apparently carried out by an Afghan police officer, British officials said. The shooting occurred in the Nad e-Ali district of Helmand province. The British soldiers were working with Afghan National Police at a checkpoint when one of the policemen opened fire, Lt. Col. David Wakefield, a British military spokesman, told Sky News. Deaths among British troops...
Bangladesh
Bomb hits Bangladesh MP's car, several
Bangladesh | The Washington PostDHAKA (Reuters) - About a dozen people were injured on Wednesday when unidentified attackers threw a bomb at the car of a Bangladesh politician related to the country's prime minister, police and witnesses said. They said Fazle Noor Tapas, a member of parliament from the Awami League party of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, escaped unhurt in the evening attack in central Dhaka. The bomb hit the car as Tapas was getting into it. "About 12 people...
Bhutan
Death toll rises to 11 in Bhutan quake
Bhutan | CNNNEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- The death toll from Monday's 6.1-magnitude earthquake in Bhutan rose to 11, the country's home minister said Tuesday. Among the dead were four Indian road laborers who were crushed when boulders from hillsides rained down on them, said Home Minister Minjur Dorji. "In all, we have lost 11 lives," the minister said, adding that the government estimated that the temblor caused millions of dollars in damage. Almost all homes...
India
Roadside doctors with no degrees thrive in India
India | CNNNew Delhi, India (CNN) -- Sitting on an iron bench along a busy street, Chaman Lal sticks his fingers into a mug full of a greasy concoction and then applies the dark-red brew to areas where his patients complain of pain. Lal -- who does not have a license to practice medicine, but claims to be a successful bone doctor and traditional healer -- says this potion of 18 herbs is a cure-all. His large signboard, placed along the roadside, claims he can even treat paralysis.
Maldives
Maldives plans climate meet for threatened nations
Maldives | The Washington PostMALE, Maldives -- The Maldives will convene a summit next month of countries suffering some of the worst impacts of climate change ahead of a global conference on the issue in Copenhagen, government officials said.The low-lying island nation has become a leading voice on the issue of global warming, even staging an underwater Cabinet meeting this month to express concerns about rising sea levels. Government officials said Tuesday that the...
Nepal
Church collapse in Nepal kills at least 23
Nepal | CNNKATHMANDU, Nepal (CNN) -- At least 23 people died when part of a church collapsed in eastern Nepal, police said Wednesday.
Bus plunges into river, killing at least 19 in Nepal
Nepal | CNN
KATHMANDU, Nepal (CNN) -- At least 19 people were killed when a bus plunged into a swollen river in central Nepal Thursday, police said.Pakistan
Roadside blast kills 7 Pakistan soldiers
Pakistan | CNNLANDIKOTAL, Paskistnas - A roadside bomb killed seven Pakistani soldiers in the northwestern Khyber region on the Afghan border on Saturday, hours after warplanes struck suspected Taliban positions in a neighboring tribal area, officials said. The rough and rugged tribal territory separating Pakistan and Afghanistan is a stronghold for Taliban insurgents from both countries as well as a haven for al Qaeda operatives.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka says U.S. trying to quiz top military official
Sri Lanka | CNNCOLOMBO - Sri Lanka said on Monday it had demanded Washington drop an attempt to question its top military official over possible human rights violations in the last phase of the country's 25-year civil war. Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said he had been told General Sarath Fonseka, the chief of Defense Staff, had been asked by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to attend an interview aimed at gathering information against...